stairs.
Lilly popped her head around the corner “No problem,” she said “you can relax down here and I’ll have dinner ready in an hour,” she disappeared again and Luke dropped his bags and sat down on the bed. He was suddenly exhausted, her place was so welcoming, he felt like he could relax here. Being “on” all the time, especially with the reality TV guys around, was exhausting. The one guy, Joe? Jonas? Jon…? Well J something, followed him everywhere, even the bathroom. Getting to spend time here was good actually, since her house wasn’t in the contract but the bus was, Luke could take a breather. She was lovely, really. Just the way he had remembered her, maybe better. Her breasts were curvy and delicious looking, he loved the way she moved when she walked. He lay down on the bed, just for a minute he thought…
Lilly stood in the doorway for a long time, watching him sleep. His face was beautiful when it was relaxed and she could see now what she had missed before, the tension he usually carried was gone. She hadn’t realized he was clenching his jaw most of the time, and she wondered idly just how much pressure there must be on him to be good at this, make it work. Keep people employed, keep Harry happy. It probably was more than he had bargained for.
Looking at him sleeping like this was so intimate. She felt as though she should look away, but couldn’t bring herself to do it. He had removed his shirt and she watched his chest rise and fall with his breathing. His arms were thickly corded with veins, the smooth skin on the underside visible where he had thrown his arm up over his head. She didn’t know why but she loved that part of a man, the smooth underside of his arm. She imagined kissing it, drawing her tongue along the tender skin there, wondered if he would like it. How nice it would be to have him stand behind her and wrap that part of his arm around her, and turn her for a kiss.
She shook her head to clear it. Get a grip Lilly, she thought to herself, you’re the boss here (and apparently his landlady now, however that happened?) Mr. Hottie is not going to be interested in a plump lawyerly landlady. He has places to go, chicks to hook up with, and music to play, she told herself seriously.
When he woke up, she was in the doorway, watching him.
“I’m so sorry, you looked so peaceful there, I didn’t want to disturb you.”
“No, it’s fine,” he said, reaching for his phone so he could check the time and see if anyone was looking for him.
“It’s 7:30, you were out for a while,” she said, as she stepped toward the bed, then hesitated. It was suddenly awkward between them, the air thick with possibilities, and tension. Somehow there was always a little electric current between them, Lilly thought. She wondered if he could feel it too? Or if maybe everyone felt that way around him, and it was the performer in him. She stopped walking, awkwardly, and stood, shifting from foot to foot.
Luke sat up and looked at her, what he wanted to do was open his arms and have her crawl into the bed with him. He wanted to kiss her, and then do it again, run his tongue along her lips, hear her gasp as he touched her for the first time. He wanted to run his lips around her nipples and then blow on them, watch them spring to attention. He wanted to slide his hand down between her legs looking for her clit. He wanted to make her jump when he parted her pussy lips and slid his tongue there…he shook his head to clear it, and looked up at her, she was talking and he had no idea what she had said.
“Well, um…dinner, you know?” she indicated the stairs. “I mean it’s ready, so, if you’re hungry?”
“Yeah, I’m always hungry,” somehow everything he said sounded like he was talking about sex, was he? She would probably be horrified if she knew what was going through his head, how much he wanted to kiss her.
“Come on up then,” she said and
Jessica Conant-Park, Susan Conant